7 Ways to Fall in Love
by rendezvous2
Summary: Orihime yearns for warmth, friends, and maybe a red bean paste cake. Ulquiorra prefers solitude and silence. Their backgrounds and personalities couldn't be anymore different, but perhaps that's what draws them closer together. Hardships make hard lives, but all these two needed was a near- death incident for their paths to cross. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hey peeps, sooo this is going to be 7 chapters, if the title gives any clue :p I figured since UlquiHime is so popular, (and yes I'm a sucker for it ;-; come on...it's cute...) I got an idea of a story for them! Updates might be once or maybe even twice a week? I dunno, I'll try to update chapters as soon as possible, but I have another story already rolling so it might be tough! Nevertheless, enjoy...**

**Chapter 1**

She trudged on, not sure of where she was going, and didn't particularly care for that reason. She supposed she hadn't dropped dead by now because she wanted to be warm. A stupid reason, huh? But it really was so cold, and at that moment, all she wanted was to be sitting next to a roaring fireplace, mug of hot cocoa in both her hands.

At least the snow was lighter. The snowflakes fell in flurries, coating her hair and well- worn clothes in a fine dusting of white. A few little flakes clung to her eyelashes, melting when she blinked slowly and cleared them off. One foot in front of the other... left, right, left, right, left, right...

How long had she been walking anyways? It felt like she'd been trudging for hours on end, without stopping. Her legs had long gone numb and she wasn't really sure if she was even in control of them anymore. She figured if she just fell dead right then and there, they would just keep moving, like a toy that had been wound up for too long.

She had no idea what she was going to _do_. Was she really going to die in the middle of nowhere? With not a soul around to at least give her the gift of a company in her last moments? With no possessions to be buried with her? Was her casket going to be a coffin of ice and snow, gradually getting thicker as time went by?

It seemed so, because she didn't see an alternative. She should have stayed there, sucked in her complaints, and kept quiet. At least there she had a roof over her head, albeit a shabby one, and at least there she had company surrounding her, albeit more times than not she was the one keeping them in line and babysitting them while they ran around without a care in the world.

There was a distant howl of an animal- probably a wolf. Didn't they travel in packs? It seemed every tier of the food chain had others they could rely on. Even the animals of the wild had each other's backs. They worked as one unit. She had always enjoyed being around other people, had cherished friendship and family, even though her own conditions weren't always ideal. None of that seemed to matter now.

_A light._

Was it really there? She didn't even have the energy to rub her eyes, and her arms were probably frozen in the position they were in- tightly wrapping her only protection from the cold, a shabby, secondhand cloak. Was that fuzzy yellow light really getting bigger, or was she just walking closer to it? Maybe she was supposed to, and this was the end. A humorless, stiff smile graced her lips. How ironic it was that in the end, it was a light greeting her, when all her life she had been shrouded in bleak darkness, in a hopeless situation that she had always tried to make the best out of.

_No matter now_, she was going to be ok. Was there food where she was going? If so, she'd eat all she could without having to worry about others filling their stomach before she did. She'd eat everything that was on her plate, lick it clean, then ask- _no_- she'd _demand_ seconds. Her cheeks would be bulging from a thick chocolate- iced cake, with soybean filling and a rich, jelly topping. Where she was going, she'd have friends to compensate for the lifetime where she'd had so few. She would only have one sibling, preferably an older brother, one that would take care of _her_ for a change, not the other way around.

A thin, trembling arm stretched out, dainty fingers longing to reach the nearly tangible paradise. She could almost _see_ it, _feel_ it, _taste_ it. And was it just her imagination, or did it seem like there was practically a door open, a figure there to accompany her there?

"Help." She choked out, the one word faint and strained with her throat dry. Why had she said help of all words? Oh yes, it was probably because she needed help getting there. That must have been it. Help, because she was so _ready_ to move on to her next life, or at least thought she was.

Her next few steps strayed from the usual pattern of left, right, left, right. Her stiff legs tangled in each other, tripping over the snags of her cloak, and she toppled over, face first into the snow.

* * *

**A/N: This was pretty short... hope you liked it! What do you think the "light" was? ;) Haha, I could just imagine Orihime stuffing her face full of weird concoctions, but ugh... soybean- filled chocolate cake... anyways please review, follow, favorite, {insert more shameless advertising} And as always, thanks for reading ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**This was way overdue :| sorry guys but my other story requires more time so I've been neglecting this one. I'm worthy of Ulquiorra calling me trash, please enjoy the chapter, next one will hopefully be up in a week or less? **

**Chapter 2**

Realizing the open door was letting the biting cold in as well as snow, he hastily closed it, immediately regretting it after feeling a chill in his bones, the material of the sweater vest he was wearing doing nothing to prevent the cold from seeping in.

There was a bigger... problem, for lack of a better word, at hand, however. Passive green eyes stared at the fallen figure at his feet. Moments before, he had been comfortably in his home, enjoying a quiet night of reading, when he had heard a scuffle outside his door. It certainly came as a surprise when mere moments after he had opened the door, a cloaked woman called for help, before falling unconscious. He had thought it was rather rude, to practically force him to bring her in, as he couldn't very well just leave her dying in the snow. Sighing, he finally moved, hoisting the cloaked woman up by the arms and dragging her into his home, kicking the door open with his foot.

As the door shut, Ulquiorra noticed with a grimace that the clumps of snow that had gathered on her being had fallen onto the floor, quickly melting and leaving little puddles of water. Needless to say, his first impression of her was not off to a good start. It was just another reminder of why he preferred solitude, with a house away from other nosy people.

_So what exactly was he supposed to do with the woman? _He had never had any guests before, aside from the occasional visit from that blue- haired idiot or one of the other few friends he had.

Ulquiorra decided to just carry her bridal- style towards the fireplace, careful to hold her a ways from his _dry_ body. The fire was already roaring with a cozy glow, it'd melt the stiff icy feeling from the woman in no time. Ulquiorra set her down and then sank into the green armchair next to the fireplace. It was so strange, just the way _everything_ was. Why was he being such a good Samaritan? He didn't have to help the woman, he could've let her slowly freeze herself to death, after all- it had been her own fault for being out during a snow storm like this. Why had she been wandering about anyways? And how had she found his home? As far as he knew, the closest area of residency was a good five miles out, so how had she trekked all the way from there without dying already?

He rested his temple on his fingertips, arm propped up on the armrest. There were too many questions swirling around in his head, and it was giving him a headache. The woman would just have to answer his questions when she awoke.

_If she awoke_. Ulquiorra glanced at her and nudged her shoulder with his foot. She didn't move. Was she still just sleeping or was she dead? He hoped it wasn't the latter, he'd have nowhere to put the body then.

"Woman." He nudged her shoulder again. No response. "Woman, are you dead or simply deaf?" Again, only silence greeted his question. Ulquiorra let out a heavy sigh and picked up the book that had been laying on the small wooden table in front of the chair. No sense waiting for a reply that he didn't see coming anytime soon. Emerald green eyes flickered once more to the caramel hair- colored woman before returning to the book at hand.

* * *

Orihime stirred, wrapping her tattered cloak around her before drowsily opening her eyes. She felt so warm, but the bright orange and red flames in front of her sort of hurt her eyes after they had become so adjusted to the darkness of the night.

Flames, why was there a fireplace in front of her? Had she already died, and perhaps this was where she would now reside? But then, why did the pangs of hunger still stab in her stomach? And why were her feet still sore from trudging in the deep snow? As her mind slowly sharpened and came to, she noticed that she felt well rested, better than she had in ages although her neck felt stiff, like she had been sleeping... on a... floor...

Slowly sitting up, Orihime looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings. The area was simply furnished, with a furry black rug in the center of the room, dark, drawn curtains hung over the half- circle window next to the door, and another door that she assumed led to a kitchen or bedroom of sorts. Behind her... was a pair of piercing green eyes.

Orihime shrieked, leaping up with her hands automatically curling into fists, poised in front of her face. The stranger seemed unfazed, almost bored, as he set down the book he had been reading.

"I see you have awakened." Came his monotone voice. Orihime blinked one, twice, before slowly putting down her fists. The stranger watched her with those sharp green eyes, too green to seem natural. He was sensibly dressed, wearing a dark green sweater vest with a white long- sleeved dress shirt underneath it. The only thing out of place were his pants, which were fuzzy black and green plaid pajama pants. Orihime opened her mouth to ask about his strange choice of wardrobe when she realized she still had no idea where she was or who he was, for that matter.

"Excuse me, but who are you? And where am I? I mean, I'm guessing this is your home, but my question is why did you bring me here? Well, that's a stupid question, it's probably the only place you _could_ go. Wait, that sounds rude, what I _meant_ to say was since this is your home, it's only reasonable to assume that that's where you would take me, although I'm still not quite sure who you are exactly? And where I-"

"Stop talking, woman." Orihime's ramblings came to a stop, just as he had ordered. Her mouth opened and closed, much like a fish, before she finally settled on keeping it closed. She was always being reprimanded by _her_ for talking too much, but she couldn't help it. She just had so much to say, and it seemed not enough mouths to say it all.

"Let me first ask: who are _you_?" He asked in an emotionless tone. "Me? I- I'm Orihime. Orihime Inoue." She replied and Ulquiorra quickly asked a followup question before she could say anything else. "And what business did you have here, Orihime Inoue?" The one being spoken to couldn't suppress the shiver that rolled down her back. The green- eyed man's voice just pulled a certain reaction from her that had nothing to do with her being cold. He seemed so... mysterious and distant, for lack of a better words.

"I... don't know." She said lamely, and it was the truth. "I just, I mean all I remember was running away, and then a lot of walking and it was really cold and then I guess I just... ended up here." She finished, shrugging a shoulder at the end. "But if you don't mind, could you tell me what _your_ name is?"

"You may call me Ulquiorra. Cifer." Mentally, Orihime ooh-ed and aah-ed at the unusual, yet strangely exotic name. Ulquiorra Cifer. She mouthed the name, enjoying the way it rolled off her tongue as if she were speaking a foreign language.

"So, um, are you going to let me-" Orihime began, but her words were cut off by an embarrassingly loud grumble from her stomach. A light blush dusted over her pale cheeks and she awkwardly stared at Ulquiorra, who sighed rather exasperatedly.

"I suppose you are hungry?" He asked with an almost sarcastic bite to the question. The girl chuckled slowly and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, sorry about that! I can leave, I didn't mean to intrude, in fact I probably should've left the moment I woke up! Sorry, I guess I just got distracted but now I'll be on my way so you don't have to-"

"Woman." It was the second time that night he had to cut her prattling short, and he sincerely hoped there would not be a third. The woman's ramblings were not necessarily annoying, but he found the vast majority of what she said to be superfluous and unneeded. It would save time for both of them if he just stopped the ramblings short.

"Woman," he reiterated, "if you wish, you may join me for dinner. I hardly think you would willingly go back outside and just end up freezing yourself half to death again." He said logically. Offering someone to a meal was out of character for him, but it wasn't as if he was just going to stand by and let the woman trudge out into the snow. He wasn't that heartless.

Orihime's eyes lit up, her being visibly brightening. "Yeah, I'd love to! That's really nice of you. Ulquiorra." She said, adding his name at the last minute just to see how it sounded.

He didn't know how to react to the woman, as he hardly had guests, much less women that were practically strangers. He wanted to ask her where she was from, why her clothes were so raggedy, why she was already settling in so comfortably? Either she was very foolish to be so carefree in a stranger's home, or she was simply unafraid.

As Ulquiorra wordlessly got up to fix food for the two of them, Orihime took the chance to look around. Her cloak lay discarded next to the fireplace, since she was dry, and the cabin was nice and toasty. She followed Ulquiorra through the other door besides the one at the front, and discovered it led to the kitchen.

Like the room behind her, the kitchen was simple and tidy, with the walls painted a light yellow, a color Orihime wouldn't have guessed Ulquiorra would have picked based on what she knew about him. Which was, she realized, very little.

The most intriguing part of the kitchen, however, was the katana with a green hilt that rested in a glass case above the cupboards. Orihime stared at it in awe, noticing a small label on the glass that read, "Murcielago." It was typed in an elegant, slightly slanted print that Orihime imagined would be the kind of style Ulquiorra would write in.

"Do you fence or something?" She asked the green- eyed man who had started boiling water in a pot. He glanced at her before turning to a cutting board.

"No, not anymore. I was quite skilled at using the sword, but that was a long time ago." He replied almost mysteriously. It made Orihime want to question him more about the topic, but she decided to bite her tongue, fearful he would become annoyed with her.

"Is there anyone that might be looking for you?" This time, Ulquiorra was the one to speak first. Orihime blinked at him and then directed her gaze at the floor. She sank into one of the chairs at the table and sighed. "Not really. I mean, it's probably better if I don't return home at all." Then, realizing her words sounded like she was implying to extend her stay with Ulquiorra, quickly added, "But I'll figure something out! Haha, what I meant to say was that I could probably get a job somewhere and then strike out on my own, it wouldn't be any hassle really-"

"You're prattling again." Ulquiorra swiftly cut through her words like they were butter. Orihime stopped talking mid- sentence and closed her mouth slowly. Smiling sheepishly, she placed her two hands on her face, feeling the warm glow of a blush. Even though Ulquiorra's back was facing her and he couldn't see her face, she still felt embarrassed he had chastised her several time already.

Orihime looked around the small yet cozy kitchen. Everything was neatly organized, like the thick volumes that were alphabetized and packed away in a small cupboard of sorts, with a small ledge protruding out from it. There were two framed pictures resting on it, with Ulquiorra and a strange, blue- haired man making an appearance in both. Orihime leaned forward onto the table, her elbows resting on the edge to get a better look at the photographs.

The one on the left looked like it had been taken somewhere sunny, since both people in it were wearing short sleeves. Ulquiorra was looking away from the camera, an annoyed look on his face while his companion, a tall man with crazy blue hair and an even crazier grin, casually had an arm slung around Ulquiorra's shoulders. The two seemed like the complete polar opposites of each other from what Orihime could tell.

Next to the wooden- framed picture was another one, surrounded by a sleek blame frame. The moment that had been captured looked perfect to Orihime, enough to make her stifle a laugh. Ulquiorra had on an angry expression, his lips flattened in an annoyed line, forest- green eyes staring daggers at the blue- haired man, who had his eyes shut closed with laughter, one hand in his crazy blue hair. Ulquiorra had both hands pushing away on the sea foam green head of an attractive young woman with wide wheat gray eyes, her tongue in between her teeth, arms wrapped around Ulquiorra's neck in what looked like a bear- hug attack.

"Those two are both idiots." Ulquiorra's voice startled Orihime from behind. She jumped from her position, practically laying on the table, and consequently caused her head to collide painfully with Ulquiorra's chin. Orihime cringed and immediately turned around, mouth already full of apologies and excuses.

"You do not need to apologize. It's alright." He said swiftly in order to avoid another one of the woman's rambles. This time gripping his slightly throbbing chin with the tips of his fingers, he turned his attention back to the framed pictures. "The man is Grimmjow and the woman is Nel." It was all he said.

Orihime, cheeks still flushed with embarrassment, gazed wondrously at the two strangers. Grimmjow had a wild, rugged look to him and seemed to ooze a sort of confidence while Nel, on the other hand, looked cute and bubbly, like the type of girl Orihime would want to be friends with.

"Are... they friends of yours?" It was a stupid question, one with an answer she was pretty sure she already knew, but Orihime was particularly curious if Nel was Ulquiorra's girlfriend, or perhaps an ex?

"At times. I would refer to them as comrades more than anything else." Ulquiorra answered bluntly, not quite hitting the nail on the head. However, the answer sated Orihime's curiosity for the time being, so she didn't press the topic much more.

Ulquiorra walked to the stove where a pot had started bubbling. He removed the lid and ladled a soup of sorts into two bowls, carrying them over to the table and setting one in front of Orihime. She gave a smile in thanks and practically drooled at the sight of the thick, creamy soup with potatoes and meat cubes floating around. To her horror, her stomach suddenly decided to make its presence known, rumbling loudly like a monster truck revving its engine.

"Can I have a spoon please?" She asked softly. Ulquiorra blinked at her before going back near the stove and pulling out a drawer, returning to the table with two spoons in hand. "Here."

"Thank you." Orihime awkwardly accepted the utensil and tried her best not to scarf down the food and lick the bowl dry. Living with seven other siblings was tough, especially when you weren't a significant one, like the youngest or the oldest. When her father had left the family without a dime, times got a whole lot harder, and her already short tempered mother's fuse became shorter than a fingernail. Her stay- at- home mother got a job as a seamstress that made next to nothing, so food was always scarce. When there was a rare piece of stale bread or a bunch of grapes, it usually went to the younger ones. Orihime and her older siblings had managed to grow a weak garden, more thin shoots and dying vegetables than anything, but it got them by.

Basically, Orihime's life sucked and it had been the last straw when her mother had called her a good- for- nothing, especially when Orihime always did what she could to let her mom rest, taking care of her younger sisters and brothers, and helping grow the tedious garden. In a spur- of- the- moment, she'd run away with only the clothes on her back, which wasn't exactly the best idea in the harsh winter. It was probably for the best anyway- one less mouth to feed.

But leaving that wretched situation (although it did shoot a pain of guilt in her stomach, thinking about leaving her family behind) led her to here. Wherever "here" was, which she still didn't know. Fate had smiled upon her and guided her to a temporary stay, with a warm fire and a kind, although somewhat distant and emotionless, stranger. Ulquiorra.

Orihime unconsciously smiled liked the Grinch through her mouthful of steaming soup. The semi- creepy action earned her the attention and eyebrow- raise of Ulquiorra, who blinked at the grinning girl.

"What are you smiling about?" Orihime started, her eyebrows disappearing into her hairline. The spoon slipped out of her mouth and settled back into the bowl. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking." She said simply, shrugging one shoulder. With a intense, lingering look, Ulquiorra tore his gaze away from the woman and focused back on eating. After all, he was hungry.

Orihime peeked up through her eyelashes as she lowered her head, delicately sipping the soup. The stoic, green- eyed man had made no attempts at conversation, but didn't seem bothered by the silence, so she kept her trap shut too. Ulquiorra was a strange person. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but he was strange and always had such a passive look on his pale face, like he didn't want anyone to know how he was feeling. How strange.

"What are you looking at me for, woman?" Ulquiorra asked without removing his focus on his spoon stirring in his bowl. Orihime's mouth fell into an 'o' shape, large gray eyes looking more like baseballs. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were- sorry."

"You didn't answer my question." He said in a monotone voice. Orihime's grip on her spoon became lax, her expression softening.

"I was just looking at your face." She said in a tender tone. Snapping out of her daze and realizing her sentence had sounded rather creepy, she hastily added, "I mean your e- expression! You're so passive all the time and I was just wondering why that is."

Ulquiorra turned his head to her, green eyes unmoving. "Why? What good does it do to complicate matters with things like emotions? Those who know despair once knew hope. Those who know loss once knew love. If you feel nothing, you do not expect anything, and you do not put yourself through such pains."

It was the most Orihime had ever heard him say, granted she had only just met him a few hours ago. It had been a deep speech too, making the gears turn in her head as she pondered what he had said.

Feel... nothing? That would mean no pain, no worry, no concern. But it would also mean no joy, no compassion, no love. A world without love was a world Orihime didn't think she could handle with a heart as open as hers. She allowed everyone to come into her heart, even if it meant they would just trample it and leave.

"But, that would mean you don't love anything." Orihime protested. What about Grimmjow and Nel? Ulquiorra had referred to them as comrades, so didn't he feel a gratitude of sorts towards them?

"And what would I do with such a thing as love? Keep it, give it, throw it away? You and I cannot see love with our eyes and we cannot hold it in our hands, so perhaps this 'love' does not exist." Ulquiorra said with an air of finality. He took his bowl to the sink and rinsed it out, leaving it to dry in the rack next to it. Just as he was about to leave the room, he put one hand on the door frame and said, "The first left at the top of the stairs is a spare room. You are welcome to sleep there."

Orihime watched with wide eyes as the slender hand slipped off the door frame and Ulquiorra left her to herself in the kitchen. He seemed pretty damn convinced that he had a heart of stone, cold and unfeeling, but Orihime thought otherwise. With the corner of her mouth quirked up, she followed suit and cleaned her empty bowl before sitting back down once more.

She came to the answer that the reason Ulquiorra was so uncaring when it came to emotions was because he had yet to experience them. He had to have an interest in something, and he had to care for something in the world. Orihime would just have to find out what it was.

**A/N: Yay end of chapter 2! So, got into all that Ulquiorra nihilism psh. :p Ulqui, why you so empty? Oh well, more drama to come later! If you liked it, it would mean so much to me if you gave this story a follow, favorite, maybe reviewed? {insert more shameful advertising} And as always, thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes, this is late. :| I've been behind both my stories but hopefully now that I'm getting into the swing of school and its shittiness, the updates will be coming faster! Yay, enjoy.**

**Chapter 3**

It took Orihime a long time to fall asleep. And even now, she was still lying wide awake in bed, her mind replaying the events of the night. First of all, she had to figure out how the shower in the hall worked without asking Ulquiorra for help. She was so used to heating buckets of water to lukewarm and then dumping them on herself that the modern- shower both fascinated and embarrassed her. She didn't want to bother the tight- lipped man with more questions that he would probably find both stupid and eyebrow- raising.

Despite the preconceptions of those who had passed by Orihime's shabby living environment and her poor educational upbringing, she was really not all that dim. To the contrary, her cogwheels in her mind were constantly reeling. However, in her simple day- to- day life, she just never had a need to showcase her intelligence.

After the short puzzle that was the shower, there was the question of what she was to wear _after_ she had showered. Neatly folded over the rack next to the shower was a fluffy, white robe that Orihime would have chosen to wear over her tattered cloak and outfit. She had stood in the humid bathroom, debating whether to don the bathrobe that she didn't know belonged to Ulquiorra or not, or to suck it up and change back into her own clothes.

Then again, she had figured that Ulquiorra would have already been wearing it if it were his, so she happily slipped it on, reveling in the warmth and softness of it. Quietly, she had tiptoed to the spare room Ulquiorra had mentioned to her prior. And as she flopped down onto the springy mattress, that was where she lay awake for another half hour or so.

There was the soft hooting of some kind of snow owl outside the one window in the room. The bedroom was small, but simple and well- furnished for one that was sparingly, if ever, used. The walls were painted a creamy light tan with a strip of forest green that was a couple inches from the ceiling and wrapped around the interior of the room. A queen- sized bed with cream comforters and satiny covers was pushed in the middle of the wall left to the door. In the opposite corner was a simple, squat, and white armchair with an empty shelf positioned above it. The only remaining furniture in the room was a light green dresser that was directly under the window, both facing the door.

Orihime sighed quietly and turned in her sheets. She could have gotten used to this routine, this content lifestyle that so many took for granted. After all, it wasn't as if she had expected to stay forever. She doubted Ulquiorra would've let her, anyways. She had long since realized, with a deep, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, that it had been pure luck that it had been Ulquiorra's home she had stumbled on in the snowstorm, and not someone else who would have been less than happy about letting her stay the night.

She wanted to know more about the ink- haired man, though. He seemed so... distant, and lonely. And she wondered why that was so, and why she was so curious. After all, she had only just met him, and Grimmjow and Nel were his friends, weren't they?

She rolled over again, this time to lay on her back. Dainty fingers were curled over the top of the sheets and pulled them up so only the part of her face above her mouth was exposed. Orihime closed her eyes. She would need all her strength to find the will to leave the humble home of Ulquiorra.

* * *

Piercing green eyes in a pale face popped in through the crack in the door. Sure enough, the obnoxiously loud snoring was coming from the woman. Orihime's figure was sprawled under the thick comforters. Her mouth was ajar, and the snoring bounced off the walls and filled the silence. Ulquiorra was surprised she hadn't woken herself up with the noise.

Sighing quietly and closed his eyes for a moment. He had come to the decision to ignore the woman for now, since surely she would come come out of her annoying slumber any time now. He had thought about waking her up himself, but then thought the action seemed too kind, too familiar for someone like him. Ulquiorra's eyes wept over the sleeping beauty's face one last time before turning away to go sate his growing hunger.

"Ulquiorra- kun?" All at once, said man realized the resonating sound had stopped, and it was the woman behind him who was speaking. Deciding to ignore the honorific she had tacked on to the end of his name (as it had certainly not been there yesterday), he both acknowledged and responded to her call by slightly turning his head to look at her through the corners of his eyes.

Orihime cocked her head like a puppy, big gray eyes shining with something- curiosity? Ulquiorra couldn't tell.

"What are you doing so early up?" What she wanted to ask was why he was in her room, but she was sure the reason hadn't been anything perverted. Ulquiorra seemed far too level- headed and sensible for that sort of snooping around.

His long, slender fingers buried themselves deep into the pockets of his black and green plaid pajama pants (which Orihime secretly thought looked rather good on him) and he shifted himself so he was facing her.

"You were making an awful lot of noise in your sleep. So much, in fact, that it woke me up. But now, seeing as you are up and awake," he stated, turning to leave once more, "I will leave you be."

To Orihime, it sounded like he was implying that she should be packing her bags soon and be on her way, but maybe that was just her conscience speaking to her. Her mouth opened to say something to him, but he had already left, Orhime hearing the soft padding of his footsteps on the stairs.

Against every fiber of her being, Orhime wrenched the warm covers over her bathrobe- clad body. The robe had ridden up substantially, and she hurried to straighten it out, even though there was no one in the room. Despite the warmth still resonating from the bed and herself, Orihime could already feel the cold morning chill of winter through the glass window. No doubt if she were to stick her tongue on the window, her tongue would have instantly been frozen stuck to it from the cold. Not that she was willing to test the hypothesis out.

Her feet lightly touched the floor and carried her body to the bathroom outside the room. There, she quickly freshened herself up with the running water the porcelain sink and small hand towel provided. She noticed Ulquiorra must be a man of great importance, or else have a high job ranking, since all the appliances and home furnishings seemed made of quality and expensive materials, such as the thick satin covers she had slept under last night, and the fine craftsmanship on the handles of the sink, which were elegantly adorned with gold flowers and swirls.

Running a hand through her head of tangles, Orihime made her way downstairs, each step seeming to grow heavier with great reluctance and mental resistance. When she reached the foot of the stairs, the soft clinking of utensils met her ears.

"I see you found the bathroom." Ulquiorra commented from behind the sink as Orihime walked into the kitchen. His grass- colored eyes had flickered to her attire before returning to the soapy dishes he had been washing. Orhime realized with a start that she was still wearing the bathrobe from the night before, and her cheeks were instantly dyed a faint red.

"Oh! I- I didn't realize I was still wearing this, I'll go change right now, sorry I didn't know and I was probably think-" Orihime rambled on, her eyes looking at the corners of her eyes and her hands raised as if saying, _what can ya do? _Her run- on speech had been brought to a halt by none other than Ulquiorra, who had just placed his dish to dry on the rack next to the sink. It only took one lingering look from him, as he dried his hands with a towel, to make Orihime slowly close her mouth.

_You enjoy the sound of your own voice a lot, don't you?_ Ulquiorra wanted to say. However, both Grimmjow and Nel had often chastised him for being so blunt and borderline rude, so he refrained from making the comment, instead flattening his lips into a thin line.

Why was the woman still here anyway? Didn't she want to get back to her own home? Ulquiorra had allowed her to spend the night only because the weather had called for it, but he was not sure he would be as intent on giving the woman a second stay. He had his own matters to attend to, and she surely had her own. She would be on her way shortly, and that would be the end of their paths crossing.

"I guess I should be heading my way back home." Orihime said softly, her eyelids lowering slightly, giving the impression of a sorrowful look. Her fingers played with each other, tugging and worrying so much that the action caught the attention of Ulquiorra's watchful gaze. He remained silent and passive, waiting for the woman to stay true to her words, as he leaned against the counter with his elbow.

"Would it be alright i- if I kept this? You can have it back if you want, but could I-?" Orihime asked meekly. She was utterly in love with the robe, even if it _was_ just the simplest thing ever. She bit her lip and stared intently at Ulquiorra, who merely blinked and nodded once. The article of clothing was something he could easily replace, seeing as he hadn't really put it to good use before the woman came along. _And should be leaving anytime now..._

Orihime gasped in happiness, her face lighting up as a wide smile graced her features. Uttering a sound of triumph, she left the kitchen to find her cloak, which was laying in front of the now empty fireplace. In an odd clash of fashion, she secured the brown cloak around her neck and then, at a much slower pace with her happiness wearing off, walked over to the entrance where her worn boots were at.

Ulquiorra appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning with his back against it and his arms crossed over his chest. Orihime smiled again, this time smaller with a tinge of sadness.

"Thank you Ulquiorra- kun." She said softly and tugged on her boots. Even though her legs were bare, the bathrobe reached to the middle of her calves and was still much warmer than her old clothes, so she was better off than she had been coming to the place.

"Be careful, woman." Came the unexpected advice of Ulquiorra. His jade green orbs were as emotionless as ever, but they appeared to have softened just the fraction of an inch as he watched the smaller of the two grasp the door handle and tug. And tug. And try to wrench the piece of wood open.

Slightly irritated at the woman's inability to open a simple door, he personally walked over, Orihime stepping to the side as he firmly grasped the brass handle and gave it a strong tug. It made a sound, but didn't budge.

"Hm." He made a noise of indifference, although his eyebrows were starting to get drawn into an annoyed expression,a rare moment. This time, with both his hands on the handle, he put the tip of his foot next to the door and used it as an extra boost to finally fling the blasted thing open. A mountain of ice- cold snow came crashing down on his dry self, pushing him back until his back hit the nearest wall.

Orihime had sidestepped the whole thing, watching with wide eyes as the snow completely buried Ulquiorra. At first, she gave a sound of surprise and slight concern and reached out for him, but then the mound shifted, out revealing inky black hair, speckled with flakes of snow. Ulquiorra swiped at the snow covering his legs until the dark fabric of his pants showed, and then proceeded in lifting himself out of the heavy snow that left him shaking in his mere pajama pants and thin, long- sleeved shirt. His pants of breath was visible and came out in small puffs as the bone- chilling temperature outside came rolling into his once- toasty home.

"Close the door." He said almost snappish to Orihime, who sprang into action and did as he had asked, although with some difficulty pushing out the snow that had come rushing in.

Once finally free of his temporary snow grave, he gave a shake of his arms, relieving them of any of the snow that hand clung to his shirt. Despite his cold appearance and even colder personality, Ulquiorra actually quite despised the cold. The only good thing that ever came out of winter was the quiet nights, silent save for the occasional hoots of the snow owls or howls of wolves. Most of all, however, he hated _being_ cold.

Orihime wasn't sure what to do. Did Ulquiorra still want her to leave, as his speech and actions had implied so heavily? The reason she had stayed the first night was because of the brutal weather, but it was clear that overnight, it had snowed a great deal and the conditions outside were even worse. As the snow lay melting, and surely ruining the wood floor, Orihime turned to Ulquiorra.

"I'm really sorry! I don't want to ask for too much, but would it be alright if I just stayed-" She was cut off again by Ulquiorra's hand. He held it up, his palm facing her. "Do whatever you like. I don't care." He said simply and spun on his heels, heading straight for a hot shower and a nice change of clothes. He couldn't care less about the woman, as long as she didn't pester him too much, he supposed she was here to stay for yet another night. How annoying.

Internally, Orihime leaped for joy, fireworks of joy bursting inside her at Ulquiorra's surprising approval of her request. She really hadn't truly wanted to return home, no matter how selfish it may have seemed. After all, didn't all humans wish for an existence without pain? With sorrow, worry, hunger for something one could not reach? Orihime knew she did, and wondered what kind of occupation she could secure with her meager skills. A baker perhaps, since she had always loved cooking. Earning a wage would just be an added bonus.

Orihime set to cleaning the cold flurries from off the floor with a broom and dustpan she found in the kitchen. Dumping the contents of the pan into the sink whenever it got too full, soon all that was left of the incident was the water that Orihime cleaned up as well, this time with a rag. Carrying it into the kitchen and wringing it out over the sink, she set it aside and let out a deep breath.

"Wow." Was all she said when she finally recalled the look of pure shock that had appeared on Ulquiorra's face moments before being buried under. The orange- haired girl giggled into her hand at the thought of the steely green- eyed man being completely overwhelmed with the natural occurrence. The incident only proved to Orihime that he did have feelings, and that even _he_, the most guarded of them all, let his defenses down. Granted, annoyance, surprise, and irritation weren't the best of emotions, but it was a start nonetheless. Orihime was starting to peel back the layers of the mysterious man: Ulquiorra Cifer.

She still thought his name sounded exotic.

**A/N: Sorry if you waited all this time and instead got... this. But as always, thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm contemplating the whole "7 chapters" idea because I DO think that things will fall out nicely within the span of the last few chapters, there are some ideas I have that I'm not too sure would fit in to a mere 3... hm, we'll see. This one's a bit short, too, so sorry about that. Enjoy :)**

**Chapter 4**

"Ulquiorra?" The woman was bothering him again, but at least she wasn't adding that skin- raising endearing honorific this time.

"Hm."

"Do you mind if I ask why you live so isolated from other people? Where do you buy your groceries and stuff?" Orihime asked, genuinely curious. It would have been nice to know where she was, exactly, as well. In her trek through the snowstorm, she had lost all sense of direction, so her current location was still unknown to her.

Ulquiorra didn't look away from the thick volume he was reading next to the blazing fireplace. The awaiting woman watched from her spot on the floor as thin lips took a small sip of a steaming cup of tea without answering her question. Then, just as she was about to tell him to forget her asking, he spoke.

"They were are annoying and insufferable at best. I did not enjoy their company, anyway, so I moved away." He said, and Orihime assumed the "they" referred to was the townspeople. Had they really been that difficult to live with? Maybe Ulquiorra just wasn't very social.

A small grin graced her face as she pictured a young dark- haired boy, with wide, green eyes, trying to play with the other children. The real deal pair of eyes glanced at her, slightly lingering when he noticed the daydreaming look on her.

"What are you thinking?" He asked quietly. The glassy look in her dust- gray eyes vanished, leaving them clear and attentive. "Huh?" She drawled. Ulquiorra returned to his book and closed his eyes for a second, a small puff of a sigh escaping his lips. Did the woman think he would repeat his question? If so, she was mistaken.

"Forget it." He said with a tone of finality. Beside the diminishing fire, Orihime shifted herself into a more comfortable position on her stomach, making sure the bathrobe she was still wearing was doing its job and covering everything it needed to. She had taken quite a shine to the fluffy robe, and didn't have an alternative clothing option, anyway, so it was her only outfit for the time being. She rested her cheek on the palm of her hand s her legs swinging back and forth like a pair of pendulums.

"About this morning..."

"I said _forget it_." Ulquiorra emphasized more distinctly. One long finger twitched over the corner of a page, showing the only sign of his annoyance. Not only had the morning brought an unplanned personal snow shower and forced him to shower for the second time in a span of only one hour, it had also extended the woman's stay. He had been even less pleased about the latter, but even someone like him, someone who couldn't have cared less about the well- being of another person, even _he_ had the sense not to send the woman packing in as atrocious weather as the current one. He couldn't do it. For a reason he couldn't understand, the thought of the fragile, orange- haired woman trudging in the thick snow below her as well as it rained above- the thought made the hairs stand up on the nape of his neck.

How strange. The more he tried placing the uncomfortable feeling, however, the more his mind grew heavy and muddled in his thoughts, to the point where he decided to simply ignore it altogether. He didn't have the time for foolish things like it.

Orihime lifted her head from her palms. The regular rustle of a page turning hadn't disrupted the quiet atmosphere in some time. On a closer look, Orihime noticed Ulquiorra's eyes were fixed on one point in the book. Had it been something she said...?

Suddenly, when a light bulb was turned on in her mind, she leaped to her feet with her hands on her hips. The sudden action snapped the green- eyed man out of his trance and he looked at her questioningly.

"I've just got the greatest idea! How about I make lunch for you today? It's the least I can do to repay you!" Orihime exclaimed, waving her hands around animatedly. She let out a laugh of excitement akin to that of a child's, already making her way to the kitchen. Ulquiorra watched as she practically danced out of the warm living room. A glint of something along the lines of curiosity glimpsed in his eyes. He was still staring at the door she had passed through, silently pondering how he should react to being treated to a meal.

Ulquiorra didn't how high the woman's cooking skills were, but he was expecting much. He allowed his eyes to close momentarily, closer to a sigh than anything, before taking the book that had been laying in his lap and stood up, carefully sliding the volume back into its place in the bookshelf.

The sounds of chopping had already begun, and a boiling pot was set on the stove top. Ulquiorra's eyes took in the woman's work station, the vivid green orbs sweeping over the dusting of flour everywhere, even managing to get on the floor, boiling pot that was starting to spill over, and the woman who had abandoned her post at the cutting board and was currently struggling to reach the cupboards, her fingertips fruitlessly trying to grab the small handle.

Wordlessly, Ulquiorra crossed over to her, careful not to step on the patches of white adorning the wooden flooring, and easily opened the cupboard for her. Surprised though she was, it came as more so when a loose measuring cup came tumbling down from it. She automatically shut her eyes and shrank away from the plastic cup as it launched itself at her.

A pale hand caught it with ease.

When the anticipated hit never came, Orihime tentatively opened one eye, and then both when she realized what had happened.

"Oh! U- Ulquiorra, thank you." She stammered, suddenly feeling unusually hot. Ulquiorra had still one arm outstretched in front of himself, his hand in close proximity to the tip of Orihime's nose. He himself was standing right behind her, the other hand casually stowed away in a pocket. Even as close as he was standing, Orihime couldn't even hear him breath, he was so quiet.

Was is it just her or was the hand resting on the counter suddenly feel unusually hot?

Her already wide eyes grew to the size of a baseball when she noticed her left hand had been resting dangerously close to the flames under the pot. With a gasp, she jerked it away, just as the lid of the pot started clattering, the contents spewing over.

Ulquiorra put the measuring cup next to the sink and stepped back to watch the woman panic over the bubbling pot. It seemed that his assumptions had been correct: the woman had traits like clumsiness and a knack for getting under his skin, it was apparent that wherever she went, a mess soon ensued. Perhaps it had been a mistake to allow his food to be prepared by her.

"Do you mind if I add some spice to this?" Came the chipper voice of the auburn- haired woman. A slender finger was pointing at the pot, its contents still unknown to Ulquiorra. He pushed off the counter with his shoulders and strode over to the stove top to peer into it momentarily. Some type of sauce was sloshing around in it, with what looked like chopped carrots bobbing on the surface.

"Do whatever you like." Ulquiorra replied honestly. He was apprehensive about giving the woman control over his meal, but Grimmjow and Nel _had_ always pestered him to no end, complaining about him and his lack of adventurous spirit. Well, here he was now, being _adventurous_ in his food preference. Besides, although he would never say it out loud, he was just the tiniest bit curious as to what the woman would cook up.

"OW!" A loud, high- pitched scream rudely shook him out of his thoughts. With the corners of his lips slightly turned down, his head snapped to Orihime, who was clutching her wrist in her hand. Her footfalls were sharp and fast as she paced back and forth beside the table, muttering something incomprehensible under her breath . Upon closer scrutiny in order to see what in the world was wrong with her, Ulquiorra saw what looked to be tears forming at the corners of the gray eyes.

"What did you do?" He asked, already trying to suppress a sigh as he walked to her. Orihime was hyperventilating, panting faster than a dog in 100- degree weather. Her fingers throbbed painfully and were painful to touch.

"I- I think I just... burned myself." She said with a strangled voice, as if she had just swallowed a rock and it was lodged in her throat. A pitiful sniffle came from her as she tried to suck in her tears, not wanting to seem so emotional and hapless in the presence of the ever- so stoic and emotion_less_ Ulquiorra. Said man watched as her lips started quivering before he finally decided to do something about the problem.

"Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go, doesn't it?" He said monotonously and turned his back on her and walked to one of the drawers lined under the stove top. While one of his hands searched around in an open drawer, the other switched off the pot, just to be safe. He withdrew two things and pushed the appliance shut before returning back to the sniffling woman.

She was proving to be a bigger problem than she was worth. And it seemed he would be the ones cleaning up after her messes in the end. Ulquiorra's tantalizing green eyes looked into Orihime's for a second, although he was not sure what he was searching for. Why was he helping her anyway? He asked himself, before deciding to toss the question to the back of his mind. It didn't matter the reason, he had better help the woman himself, or she was bound to inflict more self- injury upon herself.

"Sit down." He told her, and she complied, sinking down into one of the chairs at the table. Orihime grip on her injured hand loosened a bit when she looked at the two objects in Ulquiorra's hand. Standing in front of her, he set a roll of thick white bandages on the table, and unscrewed the lid off the jar of ointment he was holding.

"It'll help with the burn." He told her. Orihime nodded like she understood, but what she really wanted to do was ask what the stuff was. Shaking off the loose grip of her other hand, Ulquiorra held her injured fingers at the bottom of them, by her knuckles. A light pink hue dusted over Orihime's pale cheeks, but it went unnoticed by the green- eyed man, who was currently massaging the cool medicine onto the tips of her fingers. She averted her eyes from the application, slightly embarrassed at the way their fingers were intertwined.

When he had applied enough aloe that he deemed satisfactory, Ulquiorra screwed the cap back on the small jar and picked up the roll of bandages instead. Pulling out a couple inches of it, he wordlessly wrapped the dressing around her burned fingers. As he wound a second layer of the white gauze around them, Orihime wiggled her fingers experimentally, grinning at the way they were all fat and stubby, dressed in the gauze. Ulquiorra ripped off the end of the length and tucked it under a ring of bandage.

"Thanks you, Ulquiorra- kun." Orihime said softly, adding the honorific once again. A corner of Ulquiorra's mouth twitched, but he hid his annoyance well behind his glass mask, stowing his hands into the pockets of his black cotton sweatpants. The gratitude shining in the woman's eyes had him almost uncomfortable- what was he supposed to say? Why did it matter, anyway?

"Just do us both a favor and stay out of trouble." He said, the words meant to be a parting goodbye as he made his way to the counters, where raw food was still left out, lunch half- made.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot about the food!" Orihime exclaimed, bringing her wrapped fingers up to her mouth. She hurriedly shuffled to the work station and surveyed the mess she had made. Gently resting her hands on the granite counter, a slow but sure dawn of knowledge came over her as she realized that she had no idea what she was doing. It had seemed like a good idea in the beginning: treating her hospitable host to a warm meal. Obviously, however, things hadn't turned out quite the way she had wanted them to.

Ulquiorra tilted his head at the woman. "Why are you apologizing so much? I had not voiced my thoughts and yet you apologized. For what?"

A russet eyebrow arched up at the question. "I guess because I feel bad, I suppose. Maybe I do it because I think it makes me sound polite, ahahaha!" She laughed, a high tinkering sound. Vivid, ivy green eyes looked at her joyful expression with a tint of emotion reflected in the green hues. It seemed Ulquiorra had just scraped the top of the wonder known as Orihime. Why was she laughing? He had not said anything particularly funny, he didn't think.

Ulquiorra parted his lips to speak, but instead, a small puff of breath, a cross between a sigh and a scoff, escaped them before he closed them. He returned his attention back to dicing the chicken that was laid out on the cutting board. The orange- haired woman was still laughing herself away, one hand on her stomach and the other on her head. Ulquiorra gave one last cursory glance at her before resuming his work. She was being distracting, what with her joyous laughter bouncing off the walls of the small kitchen. She was distracting _him_, and that fact made him even more wary of her.

"Wow, I haven't laughed that much in _years_!" Orihime said breezily, taking shaky deep breaths in order to settle down her heavy, laughter- induced, breathing. One, non- bandaged finger collected the moisture that had formed under her eyes. It was peculiar to think how, just minutes before, she had nearly been on the verge of tears, and now she was coming off a laughter- high.

She smiled fondly at nothing in particular, and rested her elbow next to the cutting board, her head settled in the palm of her hand. Suddenly with a great surge of boldness, Orihime leaned forward with her eyes closed and placed a swift and light kiss on the dark- haired man's cheek. Since she had been unable to hold her promise of a satisfactory (and edible) lunch, a kiss would have to suffice in exchange. And as her lips lingered a bit longer on his surprisingly warm cheekbone, Ulquiorra's hands stopped their work, a once- in- a- blue- moon look of shock flashing in his usually stone- cold eyes.

And in those few seconds, he let his mask down, because even though he had already been convinced the woman was mentally unstable, that one action had taken him completely, _utterly_, off guard.

"Thank you, Ulquiorra."


	5. Chapter 5

**Longer than usual and as a bonus, you meet some familiar faces in this :) Enjoy...**

**Chapter 5**

Ulquiorra's immediate reflex to the tender action was to recoil and stare at the woman with such intensity, it was a wonder she hadn't erupted into flames yet. However, it seemed Ulquiorra hadn't been the only one affected, when there was a pink hue spread across her cheeks, the tips of her ears turning hot and red. A simple kiss had seemed in order at the time... but it had resulted in the atmosphere becoming dripping with awkwardness and heavy silence.

"I- why did you do that?" Ulquiorra finally spoke, trying to get his tongue to stop feigning dead in his mouth. It felt so unnerving to have been caught off guard, something that hadn't happened to him in what felt like a million years. And was it just him or was his heart beating unusually fast? He felt so internally unstable, the situation was laughable. His fingers twitched by his sides as he tried to mentally compose himself.

Orihime's eyes traveled to the top right corner of her vision as she thought. Her original reason suddenly sounded so silly if she were to say it to Ulquiorra. Something a little sensible would sound better...

"Ahaha, I was just playing around, Ulquiorra- kun! I'm sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable." She said sweetly, the second half of the statement containing more truth than the first. Orihime quirked her lips and sent a cursory glance at the silent man, quickly looking away and trying to act casual when she saw him staring at her. This was certainly not what she had planned.

Ulquiorra looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, trying to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Why did the woman always have to go about doing things that would just cause more trouble for, not just her, but him as well? He'd been more or less fine with their... relationship before the woman had given him a.. kiss. He thought kisses were meant for two lovers, not barely- acquainted strangers. Was the woman trying to hint at something? If that was the case, she would be sorely disappointed.

"No, I'm fine." He finally said and then proceeded to chopping vegetables and dumping them in the rekindled pot of simmering sauce. He wiped his hands on the towel laying next to the sink and then turned to the woman again. "You should eat soon." He said before walking out with his hands in his pockets. It didn't matter anymore and he didn't want to waste time thinking on a meaningless subject anyways.

Orihime's eyes followed Ulquiorra until he made the bend of the stairs and vanished from her sight. The auburn- haired girl sighed and rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. Part of her was relieved that he had been the one to get things back into action, but the other part of her was curious- had that been the faintest of blushes she had seen...?

"Wah!" The pot had started bubbling over and Orihime rushed to bring it to a low simmer again. As she stirred the contents with a ladle, Orihime couldn't help but wonder why the green- eyed man seemed so utterly unimpressed and detached from everything. Then again, a grin crept onto her face, there were those rare and precious moments she had seen annoyance and irritation flit across his features. At those times, he looked so grumpy, in hindsight, she couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Orihime gave another chuckle before returning her thoughts back to the present. "I guess I'll dish out two servings, just in case Ulquiorra- kun decides to eat with me." She said out loud, and rummaged in the drawers before finding two bowls. She ladled soup into both and carried them to the table, setting one in front of her and the other across. She sat down in her seat and then stared at the bowl in front of her with slightly sad eyes. Things felt so quiet when she was all by herself...

"Neliel has a habit of bringing her belongings and leaving them here whenever she visits. Feel free to wear whatever you like. It's not like she'll care anyway" Ulquiorra stated while he led Orihime into the room at the end of the hall upstairs. Just like he said, clothes were strewn around the small room. Orihime randomly picked up an article of clothing with her finger, quickly dropping it with a dark blush when she realized it was a rather raunchy undergarment.

Ulquiorra looked on with an expression of exasperation in his eyes. He had only shown the woman this room because, if the weather permitted, he was planning on going into town later and figured if the woman insisted on tagging along, she would need something more proper to wear than a... bathrobe. Make no mistake, he was not doing this out of kindness, but rather saving any degrading looks that would be cast their way in town. Another reason why he hated the place and avoided it as much as possible.

"Thank you, Ulquiorra- kun!" Orihime said bubbly and looked at him as a sign for him to leave the room while she changed. Hie seemed to have picked up on the implication, because his eyes gave a once- over of the room before walking out, one hand closing the door behind him. Orihime's smile grew when she noticed he'd had the decency to close the door.

"Ook." She breathed, and looked around the messy room, where random objects besides clothes were hazardously laying around. Ulquiorra obviously didn't care much for the room, because unlike hers, this one was almost vacant of any furniture besides a small closet, bed, and nightstand with a simple lamp on it. Orihime walked over to the stand and cleared away the random papers resting on top, revealing the words scratched into the wood: _  
_

_Grimmjow could kick Ulquiorras ass anyday _

Orihime laughed loudly when she read the crude message. It must have been from Ulquiorra's notorious blue- haired friend, since it seemed to match his personality well. Orihime giggled again as she lifted a dress that had been laying near her foot. It was simple- white, long- sleeved and down to her ankles. There weren't any designs on it besides two long black stripes running down the sides, and a lacy trim around the high collar. The material was stretchy, but had a heavy feel to it and was soft, which was perfect for the cold weather.

She grinned and changed quickly, adjusting the collar just as knock came from outside the door.

"Woman, can I come in?"

"Oh, you can come in, I'm already dressed."

The doorknob twisted and a head of dark hair appeared in the crack. Ulquiorra wordlessly took in her outfit before speaking again.

"I plan on heading into town soon. Are you-"

"Can I come with? Sorry, that is if you want me to accompany you, if not that's fine too, but, um, I-"

"Then it's settled. We'll leave immediately." Ulquiorra interjected and his head disappeared. Orihime's mouth was still forming a word, her hand raised in the air to say more until she realized she was alone. Her face lit up like a firecracker and she practically danced through the hall and down the stairs, where Ulquiorra was already seated in the chair beside the fireplace, his legs crossed and his head resting on his knuckles in a sophisticated manner. The dark blue shirt he had been wearing earlier was hidden under a smart, dark green jacket with a slightly higher collar that most others, and a row of black buttons in the front. Orihime noticed his hands were encased in dark gloves, but was too far to tell if they were black or simply a darker shade of another.

"Let's go." He said and rose from his seat, tugging on the cuff of one of his sleeves. Orihime followed him to the door, where she tugged on her ragged boots, grateful that the dress's length concealed most of her shoes, revealing only the worn front tips. After a moment passed with just Ulquiorra looking at her pointedly, she realized she had yet to put on her jacket.

Ulquiorra scoffed lightly and walked over to the fireplace and picked up her cloak from off the ground and then back to her.

"Thank you." Orihime said, and draped it over her shoulders and fastened it under her chin, once again grateful that the dress was long- sleeved and was so snug. With that, Ulquiorra stuffed one hand in his coat pocket and used the other to wrench the nearly- frozen door open, slightly tensing in case he were to be on the receiving end of yet another snow shower. When there was none, he led the way out into the deep snow, with Orihime shutting the door and following close behind.

The pristine, snowy landscape was much more appreciated by Orihime when she wasn't half- dying in it. With the tall pines piled with layers of sparkling snow and icicles hanging from branches, it was like walking in a winter wonderland.

Orihime grinned like a little kid when her attention was caught by a milky white rabbit, bounding across the vast swaths of snow. She marveled at it until it was too far away and blended into the background.

Ulquiorra watched the woman as she took in the surroundings. Why was she so enchanted? Had she never seen snow before? He looked ahead of them again, to the obscured path he usually took to get to the own. Nearly three feet of knee- sinking snow had hidden the barely- worn path, but he still knew the general area of it. A puff of warm breath was released from his mouth and he burrowed his hands deeper into his pockets, already wanting to get there faster as to escape the biting cold. He wouldn't have been surprised if his jaw was frozen shut by the time they returned home.

"So, how far away is this town?" Orihime said, breaking the serene silence and taking a break in her observations.

"A mile and a half. It should take around ten to fifteen minutes to walk there." He answered, the reply much to Orihime's dismay. Ten to fifteen minutes of walking in nearly knee- deep snow? It would be a miracle if her legs weren't two sticks of ice when they reached the village.

"Do you know the name of it?" She asked, curious to see if she knee it or not. Although she had usually stayed at home and taken care of the garden and young ones, her mother sometimes went into town for low- wage jobs. What had it been called again? Say- tray? See... rayta?

"Seireitei." He answered in a clipped tone. The click was made in Orihime's head and she almost shouted out loud when she recalled the name, although, Ulquiorra's tone made her suppress the urge. It was clear from what he had told her earlier and the way he talked about the town that there wasn't exactly a warm relationship between the two. Orihime decided to drop the subject and not press further. She didn't want to upset Ulquiorra, so she just focused on the nature around her again.

The trip seemed almost short to Ulquiorra, but perhaps that was because there was somebody else accompanying him this time. A little ways from the town, a neat path had started to emerge from the snow, a convenience for travelers. Both of them stomped their boots on the cobbled roads, shaking off any snow that had clumped on their lower bodies.

Ulquiorra's eyes surveyed the bustling streets with annoyance. Maybe inviting the woman along was a bad idea; there was bound to be talk during and after their visit. He led while she followed, a slight, but visible, parting of people as they walked through. To the auburn- haired girl, she was curious and defiantly met the stares of the people who were openly scrutinizing her, their looks quickly lowering when there was eye contact. Orihime glanced around again at the townspeople walking by before speeding along her strides in order to catch up with Ulquiorra, who had suddenly gained distance.

He looked behind him for a second, expecting to see the woman following close behind, but instead saw nothing. Ulquiorra stopped in his tracks and twisted his body to look more clearly, when Orihime merged from a cluster of people. He unconsciously let out a breath of relief and turned back around, but this time making sure to walk beside the woman. Just so she wouldn't wander off again, he told himself, because it would be a pain to go hunting for her.

"What are we here for?" She asked, observing the loudly advertising street vendors and rows of small shops and stores. There was a faint of smoke, which was probably coming from the barbecue- selling vendor they had just passed. Children bundled up in puffy coats were running around, their shouts of delight joining the morning hubbub. Orihime smiled, but it was with a tinge of sadness and jealousy. She had never had the opportunity to chase friends or siblings in her youth. Before she was delved deeper into self- pity, however, Ulquiorra swooped into her thoughts, dashing them as usual.

"I need more sugar. And," he said with a glance at her boots, "I suppose you need a new pair of shoes." Not expecting that, Orihime almost tripped over a cobblestone and landed on her face, only managing to just catch herself in time.

"N- no! That's ok, I mean, really, you don't have to do something like that!" Orihime laughed uncertainly and awkwardly as she tried to convince Ulquiorra's mind when he wasn't even looking her way and she just _knew_ he was purposely ignoring her.

"We're here." Ulquiorra stopped in front of a small shop with an open counter in front, where the shopkeeper was currently making an exchange of jingling coins for a small sack of something. The customer took the goods and stepped aside, allowing Ulquiorra to approach the counter.

Orihime stayed to the side and curiously observed the shopkeeper. Call it a sheltered life, but the only other people she had seen in her life were her family members, Ulquiorra, and the occasional people that wandered by her home. Anyways, the shopkeeper had a strange ensemble of clothing, with a striped green hat on top of his messy blond hair and leaving the top half of his shady- looking face even more shaded. He wore a green cloak of sorts, and was currently fanning himself with a small fan, even though it was nearly freezing outside. Basically, Orihime thought, he seemed like a strange man.

"Ah, Ulquiorra, you're in town. How can I help you?" He mused in an easygoing voice. Orihime perked up when she heard his friendly tone and immediately corrected her assumptions of him. If he was friendly to Ulquiorra, than she supposed she could count him as a friend.

"Urahara, I need half a pound of sugar."

"That it?"

Ulquiorra was about to nod when Orihime suddenly lifted her hand from within her cloak. The dark- haired man looked at her, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Can I make a request?" She asked him quietly. Ulquiorra dipped his head slightly and she followed through with her question.

"If it's not too much, could we buy some cinnamon?" Orihime wondered quietly, her cold cheeks becoming flushed with the intense stare of Ulquiorra's vividly- hued eyes. After a moment's respite, he relented and sighed, looking back to Urahara.

"And a small bag of cinnamon." He added. The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow and shielded the lower part of his face with his fan.

"And whom might we have here? Ulquiorra, is this your-"

"Her name is Orihime Inoue. She is merely staying at my home for the time being." Ulquiorra quickly said. Orihime suddenly felt goosebumps up and down her arms, and shivered. It didn't seem to be from the cold, but rather, and more curiously, from the way Ulquiorra had said her name. He made it sound so elegant with the annunciations rolling off his tongue, when she herself didn't even like her own name. Strange.

Urahara's eyebrow stayed raised, but he let the matter drop and left the counter to search the shop for the requested ingredients. While he was doing so, Ulquirora took the opportunity to ask Orihime about the cinnamon.

"Why do you need cinnamon?"

"To literally spice things up!" She joked with a hand covering the laughs escaping her mouth. Her shoulder shook with laughter and a tendril of orange hair slowly fell until it rested right on the curve of her nose, although she didn't notice. In fact, she seemed so happy and carefree, even midst this wretched town and its people, that for a second split thinner than a hair, Ulquiorra's not- so- hard eyes softened and one of the corners of his mouth twitched up.

Orihime opened her eyes just in time to see his expression, until it vanished and he turned his attention to taking the small cloth bags Urahara was handing him. She watched in stunned awe, not quite recovered from what she had just witnessed. Ulquiorra- almost _smiling_? They really must have been in a winter wonderland for _that_ to be happening, although it wasn't at all a bad thing. _In fact_, Orihime thought as she beamed at nothing in particular, _he looks charming._

"See ya two soon." Urahara called after them as they left the stall. Ulquiorra had stowed the flavorings in one of the pockets lining the inside of his coat. His mouth was back to being straight as a board, but it didn't fool Orihime, who was happily, practically skipping, next to him.

"Why are you so happy?" He questioned her as they made their way to the shoemaker, Ulquiorra leading again. Orihime sent him a sly look and shrugged nonchalantly, even though it was clear something had happened that had caused her to behave in such a way.

"I dunno. I just _am_." Orihime insisted, shaking her head at Ulquiorra. His eyelids lowered slightly in suspicion, but he didn't press further, and instead mentally prepared himself for what had to be his least favorite place in the entire village: the blacksmith. He worked as both a shoemaker and a blacksmith, and to Ulquiorra, his occupation made no difference. It was what had happened, the past, that made it difficult for the two to do much more than make eye contact.

Orihime looked to Ulquiorra when they suddenly stopped for no reason outside what she presumed was the shoe shop.

"Aren't we going in?" She asked Ulquiorra, who blinked and nodded, stepping to the side to let Orihime push the door open and enter first. Forest green eyes were on guard and careful as Ulquiorra followed her, the sign, "_Zangetsu's_" rattling on the door as it shut behind them.

"Hey!" A young man wearing a slightly dirty collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up called out from behind the counter in the back of the store where it led to the blacksmith. His attention was focused on something he was working on until he set it down and finally looked up to get a look at his customers.

Orihime was smiling brightly, unaware of the hostile looks sent between the two men. The blacksmith quirked his lips and made his way to them, where he leaned against the shelf of model shoes and wiped his hands with a rag.

"Can I help you?" He bit out, keeping his eyes on Ulquiorra, who didn't falter to meet it with an intense stare of his own. It was then Orihime noticed the glaring contest between the two and decided to hurry things along.

"We're here for boots. For me, I mean." Orihime said, slightly stepping in front of Ulquiorra to obstruct his view of the shopkeeper. The man's lips parted and he shook his head a little, setting aside his personal feelings in order to tend to the customer.

"Right, sorry about that. You can call me Ichigo, and just look around. If you see something you like, call me over and I'll fix it up." He said amicably, all traces of any previous hatred gone as he went back behind the counter to pick up what he was working on before.

Orihime shot Ulquiorra a curious look, glancing at Ichigo before she said to him in a lowered voice, "Why were you guys acting like that?"

Ulquiorra decidedly ignored her question and picked up a suede, tan boot at random and held it to her. "This is nice." Orihiime rolled her eyes and set the shoe back, her eyes scanning the shelves of various shoe sizes, shapes, and colors.

"It's a long trip hooome!" She said in a sing- song voice and continued to browse through the collection of shoes, a cheeky grin now in place. Ulquiorra leaned against the part of the wall next to the door, his hands in his pockets, letting a soft sigh escape through his lips. He watched as she settled on a simple brown pair of boots, and he watched as she ushered Ichigo over to ask about the price, of which he had no particular concern. He watched on, mostly keeping his eyes on the woman, as a look of relief came over her when Ichigo answered. There was the faintest ghost of a smile that flitted across Ulquiorra's features when Orihime jumped up and down when realizing the sample shoe was the same size as her and she could purchase it off the rack if she would like.

The only thing Ulquiorra himself had to do was pay, and he did that as quickly as possible, placing a bag of who- knew- how- many coins, swiftly giving Orihime the boots as they turned to leave.

Orihime immediately changed shoes when they exited the shoe shop, much to Ulquiorra's internal relief. They would finally be on their way home.

"Ulquiorra, thank you. A lot." She said suddenly, lightly elbowing his arm. He didn't reply back, just walked on, but the message was received. Orihime's head was tilted and rested on one of her shoulders as she watched her newly- booted feet step one in front of the other. She felt truly happy, a serene sense of bliss. It was a wonderful feeling that she hadn't felt until she'd stumbled across Ulquiorra.

_Ulquiorra_. It was strange how much a single person could change her life. Orihime opened her mouth to say something when someone ran into her, making her fall back, just narrowly avoiding hitting her head on the hard cobblestones.

"S'rry." A familiar voice said in an unconvincing tone. Orihime blinked the stars out of her vision to see a face she'd known her whole life. As she got up and dusted herself off, Ulquiorra staring at the stranger with slightly narrowed eyes, Orihime looked at the woman with her wheat grey eyes wide with disbelief.

"Mother?"

**A/N: Erm... yeah, that ending doe :) Well that was fun, hoped you guys enjoyed. If you did, feel free to drop a review ^_^ and as always, thanks for reading. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Well if you follow my other story, you would know that I've had a lot of crap on my plate (and yes, itt's as gross as it sounds) and no time for writing! DX Sorry in advance for this shorter- than- usual chapter too, I feel like I didn't do Orihime's mother a whole lot of justice, lol. Ok enjoy this long- overdue chapter :p**

**Chapter 6**

"Mother?" Orihime said in a whisper of a voice, her fingertips trembling as she brought them to her lips. Standing next to her, stoic- as- ever, Ulquiorra glanced between her and the woman, putting two and two together. It was obvious he was not to intervene. This was the woman's problem and he was sure she would want to deal with it herself.

It was obvious where Orihime inherited her trademark auburn hair and wheat gray eyes. However, whereas Orihime's eyes were large and full of softness and happiness, Sumiko Inoue's were harsh and cold, and what would be pretty, thick eyelashes framed the gray irises, giving a predatory, fierce look despite her age. It was obvious by the lines that marred her face, however, that she was past her prime.

"Orihime." Sumiko addressed her daughter in a detached voice, with her eyes narrowed and her eyebrows drawn together, as if not quite believing it was Orihime. Her hands were full of a paper bag containing few groceries, but she shifted the bag, cradling it in one arm. Sumiko slowly raised her hand, as if to caress Orihime's cheek, and the younger woman stilled, anticipating the touch.

It turned out to be a slap. Sumiko's hand smacked across the plains of Orihime's face, giving a sharp ringing sound and leaving a throbbing sting. Orihime's mouth opened in surprise and her head turned to the side by the force of the hit. Ulquiorra watched her recover from the initial shock, watched as she stumbled back a few steps and brought a hand to touch her red cheek. Inside his jacket pockets, his hands curled into fists, but he didn't do anything more than to silently watch with slowly bubbling anger. And this time, he knew what he was feeling was caused by the woman's mother. It had hardly been five minutes since he'd met her, and he didn't even know her name, but there was a something about her that Ulquiorra knew he didn't like.

"Orihime... how could you?" Sumiko questioned, her voice rough and raising at an alarming rate. Orihime kept her head down, her hand still placed over her throbbing cheek. This... couldn't be happening. Was this this stranger the same woman Orihime had grown up with?

"You selfish, _selfish_ girl! You practically thrust the well- being of the house into my hands! Did you ever think about how hard your mother would have to work- taking care of six children on her own? I would've bet my life savings against it. _You never gave a damn_." The words were vicious and cut deep into Orihime. Wisps of her orange- colored hair had escaped from behind her ears and fell in front of her face, creating a thin veil of sorts. It was just as well, since the hairs hid the single tear that slid down her cold cheek.

Orihime didn't care about her mother seeing her cry. In fact, she didn't think she would return back with her mother, even if Sumiko begged her. It was harsh, but after hearing those vehemently said words, from the one person she'd spent most of her life trying to please and aid, it hurt. It hurt, especially since they weren't true. No, Orihime didn't care if her mother was watching her shoulders tremble with the effort to stifle her hiccups and sniffles. She just didn't want to appear so weak in front of Ulquiorra.

What would he say after watching her become a wreck? He was so refined, so passive and professional that Orihime doubted he'd ever shed a tear in his life; which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, there she was, nearly biting her tongue off in an effort to prevent the sobs from leaking out.

Ulquiorra's lips parted in mild surprise as he watched small circles of melted snow appear in front of Orihime's boots. His eyes traveled up to her face, where he noticed something glistening... before it fell from her face and dropped down to the ground. Tears. She was crying.

"Woman..." He said in a low voice, just barely loud enough for Orihime to hear. "Are you... alright?" He asked hesitantly, not quite sure he was doing the right thing. Then again, he'd never comforted anyone before, so he didn't have anything to compare to. Across from Orihime, Sumiko glared at the two of them with a fierce look, as her accusing eyes quickly analyzed Ulquiorra.

"And who's this? Don't tell me you ran away from home to latch onto the wealthiest mean you could find!" She hissed. Sumiko took a step forward, stabbing an accusing finger at Orihime, and then Ulquiorra, who simply blinked indifferently. Orihime's eyes flew open, staring blankly at the moist palms of her hands. Slowly, she lowered them and raised her head to look at her mother. Her expression wasn't that of a person who was broken, but rather, that of someone who was seeing in a different light altogether.

"How dare you?" She snarled. While she would take all the degrading comments her mother had directed towards her, it was despicable and insulting for her... friendship with Ulquiorra's to be called nothing but a lie. Orihime wasn't even quite sure what their relationship was. She didn't know what she wanted them to be, but found that no matter what, she would guard that title fiercely, and with all her strength.

Orihime retook her steps, up until she was standing toe- to- toe with Sumiko. Although they were about the same height, Orihime still found herself looking down at the other woman.

"I'm not going to waste my breath hurtling meaningless insults at you. I don't need to. But don't say anything bad about my running away, because that was the best thing I ever did!" Orihime yelled, tears still lingering at the corners of her eyes. "For once in my life, I was actually able to _live_. Mother, I love you dearly, but I don't understand why you're being so cruel right now. But I do understand that I'm happy here, and that I've already left my past behind. It doesn't matter what you say; I'm not going home." Orihime brushed past Sumiko, who stood frozen to the ground, almost literally. She stayed like that as the dark- haired man followed after Orihime, and the sound of their footfalls faded away. Why wasn't she begging forgiveness from Orihime? Why didn't she demand her daughter to return home?

"Tch. Such insolence." Sumiko muttered to herself and she finally moved her legs, in the direction opposite of the one Orihime took. Perhaps Orihime was right, and Sumiko needed to let her daughter live her own life. Their paths were bound to cross again, but at least not for a long time.

* * *

"Woman." Ulquiorra called after Orihime, who was walking at an unusually fast pace. He was glad the whole family ordeal was done and over with, and he hadn't completely understood what had happened, but clearly, the woman was still affected.

"Woman." Ulquiorra reiterated again, his gloved hand reaching out to touch Orihime's shoulder. He brushed the snow- dappled locks of hair off the shoulder, and Orihime turned to face him. Her large eyes were brimmed with red, and yet she was smiling. Ulquiorra stared at her with the solemn look he usually wore. Orihime gave a small laugh, her eyelids lowering just a fraction of an inch.

"I'm sorry you saw me like that, Ulquiorra." She apologized, and gently rested her own, ungloved, hand on top of his. Those piercing, green eyes of his flicked to their hands before landing on something in the snowy scenery. Ulquiorra slid his hand out from under hers and pocketed it again. He started walking again, beginning the long trek home. Orihime blinked twice before she realized she was being left behind. Quickly covering ground so she was by Ulquiorra's side, she gave a curious glance at him. What was up with him- calling for her before walking away?

"What was that abou-" She began, only to be cut off by him.

"I'm glad you are emotionally stable." He said, looking at her through the corners of his eyes. Orihime returned the look, her parted lips stretching into a smile. It was strange how not ten minutes ago, she had been the complete opposite of his words, and now, it felt as if a giant rock had been lifted off her shoulders.

Orihime grinned as she furrowed into her clothes, trying to block out the cold that had seeped in. It was hard staying warm, especially since her exposed ears, nose, and fingers felt like blocks of ice; and the muscles in her legs were starting to stiffen, which made walking a strange sensation. Small huffs of breath were visible in the cold air, and they didn't go unnoticed by Ulquiorra.

What was he to do? It was a general question, but seemed to apply to everything concerning the woman. Was he to extend her stay at his home or cast her out? Was he to help her with her difficulty trudging through the snow, or ignore her labored breathing? Thoughts and concerns that generally, in the past, hadn't made it past the filter for his mind were starting to reach him. And they weren't as annoying as they were confusing.

Orihime focused on placing one foot in front of the other, which gave her an eerie sense of déjà vu. The pounding in her ears was so loud, she almost didn't hear it when Ulquiorra spoke.

"You seem tired." He pointed out, nodding at her. Orihime knit her eyebrows together, unsure of what to make of his statement.

"I- I'm alright. It's not too far to your house, right?" She asked, anxious anticipating the answer. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, decided to ignore her question. His hands were fidgeting restlessly in his pockets. An why did everything feel so sensitive all of a sudden? It was as if his senses were on overdrive, taking note of every flake of snow on his face, every move Orihime made.

"It would be an inconvenience to both of us if you were to catch a cold." Ulquiorra said, and suddenly brought an arm around Orihime. She swiveled her head to send him a questioning look, but before she could, there was suddenly a feeling of weightlessness, as she was quite literally swept off her feet.

"Waaah!" Orihime shrieked, arms and legs flailing as she tried to get a sense of what was happening. Ulquiorra stayed still, getting a mouthful of hair when the back of Orihime's head leaned particularly close to his face.

"Calm down Orihime." He said, and a second later, they both realized that was the first time he had actually used her proper name. Orihime's cheeks were tinted a rosy red, partly from the cold, and partly from the close proximity she had with Ulquiorra. One of his arms was curled around her back, with his hand wrapped around her right upper arm; and the other had her legs cradled like a bundle of sticks. Despite the embarrassment Orihime was suffering, she tried to ignore the fact that it felt nice and warm, gathered up against Ulquiorra's soft coat.

"Y- you don't have to do this! I mean, I said I was fine." She protested, the second part trailing off into a mumble. The comment whizzed past Ulquiorra's ears as the only sound became the crunch of his footfalls on the snow, and the previous two sets of footprints in the snow became one. To him, the woman really didn't feel too heavy, a result of both her petite build and his intensive past training.

When Orihime realized Ulquiorra had made up his mind, she gave up trying to sway his mind. With a small sigh, she rested her head against his chest. It was ok to allow herself to accept services when they were given like this, right? And this small gesture of kindness, it didn't mean anything, right? Orihime tried mentally comforting herself, but the thumping of her heart said otherwise, things that were best left unsaid.

"I'm kinda heavy." She murmured, more to herself than Ulquiorra, but with the close proximity the two of them were at with each other, the words easily reached Ulquiorra's ears.

And miraculously, Orihime watched with wide eyes, the corners of his mouth turned up, forming just the faintest of smiles. She didn't find what was so funny about what she said, but nevertheless, Orihime felt as if she had been transported to some unworldly fairy tale, where she was being carried through a winter wonderland by a dark- haired, green- eyed knight.

_Maybe I need a nap or something, _Orihime thought, blinking out of her daydream.

Whether it was because the way back seemed to take longer than usual, or from the snug position of being carried in someone's arms, Orihime's eyes slowly closed and she fell asleep to the soft sound of crunching snow.

**A/N: Uh so hopefully that little bit of fluff was enough to satisfy your vicious hunger? idk, but I think I could've done better. Next update will be... sooner than this one! Hehe, well if you feel up to it, hit that review box and as always, thanks for reading.**


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